Historic Earthquakes
Borah Peak, Idaho
1983 October 28 14:06:06 UTC
Magnitude 6.9
Largest Earthquake in Idaho
The Borah Peak earthquake is the largest ever recorded in Idaho - both in terms of magnitude and in amount of property damage. It caused two deaths in Challis, about 200 kilometers northeast of Boise, and an estimated $12.5 million in damage in the Challis-Mackay area. A maximum MM intensity IX was assigned to this earthquake on the basis of surface faulting. Vibrational damage to structure was assigned intensities in the VI to VII range.
Spectacular surface faulting was associated with this earthquake - a 34-kilometer-long northwest-trending zone of fresh scarps and ground breakage on the southwest slope of the Lost River Range. The most extensive breakage occurred along the 8-kilometer zone between West Spring and Cedar Creek. Here, the ground surface was shattered into randomly tilted blocks several meters in width. The ground breakage was as wide as 100 meters and commonly had four to eight en echelon scarps as high as 1-2 meters. The throw on the faulting ranged from less than 50 centimeters on the southern-most section to 2.7 meters south of Rock Creek at the western base of Borah Peak.
Other geologic effects included rockfalls and landslides on the steep slopes of the Lost River Range, water fountains and sand boils near the geologic feature of Chilly Buttes and the Mackay Reservoir, increase or decrease in flow of water in springs, and fluctuations in well water levels. A temporary lake was formed by the rising water table south of Dickey.
The most severe property damage occurred in the towns of Challis and Mackay, where 11 commercial buildings and 39 private houses sustained major damage and 200 houses sustained minor to moderate damage.
At Mackay, about 80 kilometers southeast of Challis, most of the commercial structures on Main Street were damaged to some extent; building inspectors condemned eight of them. Damaged buildings were mainly of masonry construction, including brick, concrete block, or stone. Visible damage consisted of severe cracking or partial collapse of exterior walls, cracking of interior walls, and separation of ceilings and walls at connecting corners. About 90 percent of the residential chimneys were cracked, twisted, or collapsed.
At Challis, less damage to buildings and chimneys was sustained, but two structures were damaged extensively: the Challis High School and a vacant concrete-block building (100 years old) on Main Street. Many aftershocks occurred through 1983. Also felt in parts in Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, and in the Provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan, Canada.
Abridged from Seismicity of the United States, 1568-1989 (Revised), by Carl W. Stover and Jerry L. Coffman, U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1527, United States Government Printing Office, Washington: 1993.
